I'd rather not
by chocolate-thief
Summary: Jo begins to probe into Henry's life. What will he tell her?
1. Chapter 1

Jo stopped outside the cell. 'Who was she, Henry? Who was she to you? Are you going to tell me?' Henry looked up from the floor of the cell he had spent the night in after accusing a judge of killing Abigail. His Abigail.

'I'd rather not.' He said with a sad smile. 'It's quite complicated, and a rather long story.' Jo rolled her eyes.

'Everything's a long story or complicated with you Henry. Anyway, are you coming? I got Lt Reece to approve your release, and the Judge isn't pressing charges.' She held the door open and Henry walked out of the cell. Together they headed for Jo's car, pulling their coats tighter round them in the cold winter's day. Once in the car Jo cranked the heating up and turned to Henry.

'This is weird, even for you, Henry. Just… tell me right now, why are you so obsessed with Sylvia? I mean, I get she is Abe's mom, but based on what you have told us, that just makes her your friends mom. Is she your Grandmother or something? Is Abe really your father? I know you said he isn't, but…' she was cut off by Henry.

'No! She was not my grandmother and Abe is not my father!' He glared at her sending her a clear message. _Drop it, Jo._ She didn't.

'What is it, then? Why can't you just tell me?'

'Can we drop the subject please, Jo?! It's none of your business, so just leave it, ok? I'll tell you if, not when, I want. Ok!?' Jo's eyes grew wide. She couldn't remember Henry ever yelling, at least not at her.

'Ok then…' She started the car, trying not to let Henry see how hurt she was. _Why was he so secretive all the time?_ She concentrated on staring out of the windscreen, willing the tears in her eyes away. _I will NOT cry in front of Henry._ But of course he noticed, he noticed everything.

'Jo,' she heard him sigh. 'Jo I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. The events of the last week have been rather… harrowing.' He gave a hollow laugh. 'I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you though.' He sighed again, looking out of the window as Jo pulled up by the shop. 'I was thinking of taking a few personal days. Just until this case is over.' Jo looked over at him in surprise. Henry never missed work, not even when he was sick.

 _Whatever it is with Abe's mother must be really big to him._ 'Why? What is it with this case, Henry? You never act like this, it's like she's your mom, not Abe's-what is it? Henry?' He had stiffened, like she had hit a nerve. 'I know you said she wasn't your grandmother, but was she family?'

'Good night, Detective.' Henry opened his door, getting out of the car, and Jo leaned across and held the door open.

'Seriously, Henry? You won't even acknowledge my question now?' Her eyes were filled with fire, burning with anger.

'I said good night, Detective.' He began walking away from the car, calling over his shoulder, 'Don't expect me back at work for a week or so.' Jo pulled the car door shut and pulled away from the curb. She had never heard Henry speak like that before, so cold and with a sharp edge in his voice.

-2 weeks later-

Jo honked her horn impatiently, stuck in the morning traffic. She sighed, looking at the line of slow morning cars in front of her. She sighed again, before jumping in shock as her phone started ringing. Looking at the screen she saw it was Hanson. _Probably wondering where I am,_ she thought.

'Yup?' She answered the phone.

'We got a fresh one. Meet me at-' He rattled off an address.

'Got it. I'll see you there soon.' As she hung up Jo grinned. A new case meant she was entitled to use her lights. Switching them on, she began weaving her way down the road as other cars pulled over for her, and within no time she was at the scene. As she stepped out of her car she saw Hanson standing with two other men. Squinting, she recognised one as Lucas and the other as… no, it wasn't Henry, it was Dr Washington.

 _Great. When will Henry be back?_ She thought to herself, then froze as she realised what she was thinking. When had she begun wanting Henry to come back? As she continued walking towards the group she realised it had been since a few days ago, when she had called the lab for a toxicology report and was answered with an American accent, not a British one. _I'll go see him today._ She told herself. _It's been two weeks._

-Three hours later-

Jo stepped up to the shop door, surprised by the locked door and closed sign. She knocked on the door and stepped back, waiting. She frowned, hearing muffled noises from upstairs. It sounded like someone was yelling, and every so often she could hear the low sound of someone else talking calmly. She didn't realise how long she had been listening intently, but remembered what she was doing there when there were several large crashes accompanied by more muffled yelling. She knocked on the door louder this time, and was rewarded by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and the sight of Abe rounding the corner. She smiled when she saw him, but that smile faded when she saw him stop at the sight of her. He caught himself and unlocked the door, standing in the door way.

'Hey kid. How are ya?'

'I'm good. I just came round to see how Henry was.' She peered round him into the shop. 'Is he around?'

'Oh, actually, he's busy right now… umm I can get him to call you-' He was cut off by more yelling from upstairs.

'Abraham? Have you got rid of whoever it is yet? And get me some more drink when you're down there, ok?' Abraham had a worried look on his face.

'We've been over this already, Henry. You've drunk enough.' More footsteps trod down the stairs.

'I'll get it myself then.' Jo heard Henry go into another room, and heard the clink of bottles. Abraham cringed.

'Maybe it's best if you come back another time, yeah?' He went to shut the door but Jo stopped it with her foot.

'What's wrong with him, Abraham? Why is he like this?' Abraham went to speak but was cut off by Henry entering the room.

'Abraham, I-' e stopped when he saw Jo, and then a sinister smile grew on his face. 'Detective. Do come in.' Jo suddenly wasn't so sure. This wasn't the Henry she knew.

'Oh, umm, no thanks, I have to go.' She stammered, looking back towards her car. 'I just came to see how you were.' Henry laughed dryly, before taking a large drink from the bottle he held.

'Well as you can see, I am fine.' He took another drink, and Jo's eyes widened. This was not like Henry, something was wrong. She pushed past Abe, into the shop.

'We need to talk, Henry. I don't know what is making you act like this, but you need to sort yourself out, right now. You can tell me if you want, or you can keep it to yourself, I don't care. But I want answers now.' Henry just stared at her with a smirk playing on his lips. And it wasn't a nice smirk. 'Now, Henry.' Jo reminded him. She heard Abe close the door.

'Let's go onto the lounge.' He said, leading the way. 'Would you like tea, Jo?'

'No thank you Abe, I'm fine.'

'No tea for me either, Abraham. I already have a drink.' Henry gave a bitter laugh; taking a large swig out of the bottle he was holding, managing to spill some down his clothes. His clothes, which Jo now saw already had food and drink spilt down them. '

'Yes, Henry we know. Wouldn't you rather have tea, though?' Jo almost smiled at Abe's attempt to get Henry to stop drinking.

'Why would I rather have tea when I can drink myself into oblivion, and forget everything?' He took another large gulp. Jo stared;

'Henry, Abe's the one who just had to bury his mother, but he is having to look after you! Why are you taking this so hard? It's not like she was your family!' She stared Henry down.

'Oh, here we go.' She heard Abe mutter behind her, but she kept her eyes locked on Henry's. 'Why don't you try just telling me? It might help.' His eyes narrowed, and when he spoke, it was in a mean tone.

'Why don't you try just keeping out of my life, detective? It might help.' He slammed the bottle onto the table and stormed out of the room, leaving Jo staring after him. When he was gone, she sank onto a chair.

'What do I do Abe?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! Sorry it took me a bit longer than I expected to finish this part and it's a bit shorter than I would have liked but hopefully I should have the next chapter up soonish! Thanks to** **evxjj89** **and** **superlc529** **for your awesome reviews, it's always nice to know people enjoy reading what I write** **J** **. Anyway, here you go!**

'What do I do, Abe? I'm trying but he doesn't seem to want my help. He doesn't seem to want me.' She put her head in her hands, sobbing. Abe knelt beside her and rubbed her back.

'I don't know Jo. He won't tell me everything, but he's going through a bit of a rough patch.' They stayed like that for a while, not knowing that Henry had not gone down to his laboratory but was watching them from the doorway.

He turned away, heading for the door. Once out on the street he could feel the crisp air begin to refresh him, and he headed for the river. He sat on a bench, watching the water. It felt like ages since he had just come here because he wanted to, not because he had died. He sighed, resting his head on his hands as the cool breeze helped blow away the fog in his mind, and he cringed as he recalled how he had behaved over the last few days, how he had acted towards Jo… _Jo!_ He leapt to his feet, almost falling over from the effects of the alcohol. He ran down the streets, ignoring the odd looks he got from people as he rushed past them. At last he burst into the shop.

'Jo? Abraham?' He called, walking through the shop to the apartment. 'Are you two here?'

'I'm here but Jo has gone home. Don't look at me like that, Henry. You were rude to her and then stormed out; do really think she would have stayed?' Abraham was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea. He looked up at Henry. 'Have you sobered up a bit? 'Cos I'm not going to sort you out again when you have a hangover in the morning.' Henry flinched.

'No I believe the walk has sobered me up a bit. Also, I think I will be going back to work on Monday.' Abe grinned.

'There's the Henry I know. Just a shame it took a fight with Jo to bring him back. You're going to have to tell her something, you know. It might just be easier to tell her the truth.' Henry frowned at his son.

'Certainly not, Abraham.' He sighed, a headache from the alcohol beginning to form in his head. 'It's not that I don't think she is good person to trust, but I don't think I'm ready to tell someone again. I'm not ready to take that risk. I don't want to ruin our friendship.' Abe snorted, stopping when Henry narrowed his eyes at him. 'What's so funny?'

'You. You don't want to ruin your friendship with someone you have just had a huge fight with while you were drunk before storming out. To be honest Henry, I don't really think that there is much of a friendship to ruin.' Abe's words made it through the pounding in Henry's head, and he realised the true extent of what had happened.

'I'm going to my room. Sleep of the alcohol.' He turned to leave the room before Abe could see the tears in his eyes. Upon entering his room he felt the events of the past few weeks catch up to him, and he fell sobbing on the bed. It was the first time he had really cried since they had found Abigail's remains. At first he had tried to keep it inside, then he had grown angry and accused the judge and then he had become an alcoholic. He sighed to himself. _What has happened to me? How did I let myself become like this?_

Abe was walking down the corridor towards his room when he heard Henry crying. He stopped outside his door for a minute, before deciding to knock.

'Henry?' The crying stopped abruptly.

'What is it Abraham?' His voice had a defensive ring to it.

'Are you ok, it's just I hear-'

'I'm fine.'

'You sure? I thought I heard you cry-' Again Henry cut him off.

'I said I was fine, Abraham.' His voice was slightly angry now. Abraham sighed; his father obviously wasn't going to open up.

'Ok, then. Night Pops.'

-Monday morning-

Henry staggered out into the kitchen bright and early and slumped on a chair at the kitchen table. Abraham peered at him.

'Well you look good this morning.' Henry glared at him with bloodshot eyes and massaged his head.

'I have the worst headache. Maybe I'm coming down with a cold.' Abe rolled his eyes.

'Yeah, alchoflu. I thought we agreed no more drinking?' Henry poured himself a mug of black coffee.

'Yeah, well I changed my mind. It's going to be hard going back to work; it's been almost 3 weeks now. And Jo is mad at me. Again.'

'Maybe you should just try telling her your secret. It would make everything so much easier if she understood.' Henry took a gulp of his coffee, glaring over the rim of the mug at Abe.

'No.'

'Aww, come on pops. You're gonna end up telling her sooner or later, why not just make it sooner?'

'I'll go with later.'

'I'm serious, Henry. Not everyone reacts like Nora, you know. She might be like Mom, and accept you for who you ar-' Henry slammed his now empty mug onto the table, much like he had done a few days before with a bottle of alcohol.

'I said no, Abraham. Just leave it.' He looked at his pocket watch. 'I'm going to go to work now.' He gave Abe a small smile. 'Wish me luck?'

'Good luck.' Abe grumbled. 'You wouldn't need luck if you just told her.'

'Abraham!'

'Ok, ok, I'll leave it. But I still think-' Henry cut him off.

'Good bye, Abraham. I'll be back around 5.30.'

 **What do you guys think? Like I said before, I should have chapter 3 finished in the next few days if school doesn't decide to mess with my life... good news though it will be holidays in a week then I can upload more often! Thanks for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Jo walked into the morgue on Monday morning to get a toxicology report for a case.

'Lucas, has the tox report come in yet for Jane Doe 486 yet? Only we really need it to- oh, Henry. I- I didn't know you were back.' She stumbled over her words, blushing slightly. Henry didn't look up from the body he was examining.

'Well I am, Detective. Lucas has just gone for a coffee break but I do not think the tox report is back yet. I will send it up when it arrives.' He continued cutting open the body in front of him, but sensed Jo still standing there. He looked up. 'Can I help you with anything else, Detective?' Jo blushed again.

'Oh, umm no I'm good thanks. I was just leaving.' She quickly spun on her heel heading back to her desk. As she worked through the stack of paper work she found her mind returning to Henry, and how he had looked when he looked up from the autopsy. How tired his eyes looked, bloodshot and filled with sadness. His hunched shoulders, when he usually looked so confident. She sighed. Usually Henry made the first move, apologising first; it was just how he was, but it looked as though this time she might have to. However, just as she thought this her eye caught sight of a thick, creamy envelope in between case files. Her name was written in swirly cursive writing in dark ink. _Henry._ She thought. He was the only one who would use stationary like that. She eagerly grabbed the envelope and ripped it open with shaking hands, quickly scanning the message within. Dinner with him and Abe. She leant back in her chair happily. _Why did I think Henry wasn't going to make the first move? He always does._

-That evening-

Jo parked her car under a streetlight outside the antique shop. She opened the door to the shop, the tinkling of the bell lost amid the sounds of an argument coming from the kitchen.

'What do you mean Jo is coming for dinner tonight?' She heard Henry yell, and she stopped walking through the shop.

'I invited her.' Jo heard Abe reply calmly. 'I gave Lucas an invite to put on her desk from you.'

'You… you what? You invited Jo for dinner and she thinks it is from me?' Henry's voice rose in volume.

'Henry, I know how stubborn you can be, especially with stuff involving Mom, but none of this is Jo's fault and you owe her some explanation.'

'I'm not ready, Abraham! It's too soon. I spent all day trying to avoid her as much as possible and now I have to make polite conversation with her for a couple of hours! And she is going to expect an explanation and I don't know what I'm going to tell her.' Abe chuckled.

'Err, the truth, maybe?' Jo was just able to see Henry through the kitchen door now, and he seemed to swell up, turning red.

'The truth?! This was your plan, wasn't it? Invite Jo and force Henry to tell her his secret? Well I've got news for you, Abraham. I'm not going to tell her my secret!'

'Well you're gonna have to come up with something to tell her pretty soon, then. She'll be here soon.' Jo turned and fled through the shop, back towards the door, the street and her car. As she ran she knocked into a small table, not hard enough to knock anything off, but hard enough to make the table's legs scrape against the floor. Jo froze, steadying a vase that was wobbling on the table. There was silence in the kitchen, then she head Abe;

'Jo?' His voice spurred her into motion, and she began moving towards the door again.

'Christ!' She heard Abe swear. 'I bet she heard us, you saying you didn't want to see her.'

'Well I'm sorry about it!' She heard Henry yell back, 'But this was all your idea so you can deal with it, it's not my proble-' The rest of his sentence was cut off as the door slammed shut behind her, and within seconds she was in her car, pulling away from the curb as Abe ran out into the street behind her.

'Oh damn.' He said as her lights faded into the distance. He headed back into the shop. 'Now what?'

'Like I said; your problem.' Henry replied, helping himself to a large glass of whiskey. Abe shook his head.

'I thought we agreed, for the second time, no more drinking? At least you're not just drinking out of the bottle now.'

'Yeah, well, if I'm going to get drink, I'm going to drink properly.' Henry poured another glass, and Abe scowled before moving the bottle out of Henry's reach.

'I'm serious, Pops. You need to show Jo that you value her, and that you trust her. Otherwise you're going to lose her. Just look at tonight. She was willing to try again, and you weren't. And I think that hurt her, knowing you didn't want to see her.' Henry finished his glass and reached for the bottle, but Abe moved it further away.

'Let me have the alcohol, Abraham.'

'No. Not until you sort out what you are going to do about your friendship with Jo.'

'I said; let me have the alcohol, Abraham.'

'And I said not until you sort ou-'

'I said give me the alcohol!' Henry stood up, slamming his hands on the table in front of Abraham. Abe jumped back in shock, almost falling off his chair. Henry had never yelled at him like that before, not even when he was a teenager.

'Fine. But don't come to me when you want help again.' He stood up. 'Mom would be ashamed of you.' He walked out the room, leaving Henry alone. He went to take a drink from the bottle on the table but heard Abe's voice in his head.

 _You have to stop drinking, Pops._

 _I thought we agreed no more drinking._

 _Drinking won't help; you need to talk to Jo._

 _Mom would be ashamed of you._

Henry closed his eyes against the pounding beginning in his head. _What am I doing? What am I doing to Abe?_ He groaned, letting his head rest on the table. _I need to go and talk to Jo, but not like this, not drunk. Tomorrow. I will talk to her tomorrow._


	4. Chapter 4

Tomorrow came and went, and then the next day and the next, everyday Henry telling himself that he would talk to Jo tomorrow. Abe had given up pestering him to speak to her, just relieved that he had stopped drinking for the moment, but was beginning to wonder if Henry would ever build up the courage to talk to Jo. From what he heard from Lucas, Henry would make himself scarce whenever Jo came down to the morgue. So when they were eating dinner a week after he'd invited Jo over, he brought up the subject.

'Ah, Henry. Just curious, are you going to speak to Jo any time soon?' Henry looked up sharply from his plate.

'Why do you ask? You're not thinking of inviting her around again, are you?'

'No no no, I was just thinking of how miserable you have been since this whole thing began. It will be good for you to talk to Jo, she makes you happy. And I know Mom would want you to get on with your life, it's been 30 yea-'

'Don't bring Abigail into this!' Henry jumped up from his seat.

'Aww come on, Pops. You know as well as I do that she wouldn't want you to be like this.'

'I don't care if this isn't what she wants! I don't care if she wants me to move on! I don't want to move on! Can't you try to understand, Abraham? I'm not ready to let go of her yet.' He leant on the table, breathing heavily. 'I'm just not ready.' He began to cry, sobs shaking his shoulders. Abe was stunned. Henry never cried. The only time he had ever known him cry was when he was drunk after storming out of the shop when Jo had come round. He moved to stand next to Henry, awkwardly patting his back.

'I'm sorry, Pops.' He felt Henry take a deep breath, and let it out shakily.

'You are right though, Abraham. I need to talk to Jo. None of this is her fault. I just don't know what to tell her. What if I tell her the truth and she doesn't believe me? What if she doesn't even want to talk to me? I wouldn't blame her.' He turned to face Abe. 'What if I've completely ruined our friendship?' He began crying again, and Abe again moved to comfort him, but recoiled from the smell of alcohol on Henry's breath.

'Aww Pops, you're not drinking again, are you?' Henry tried to stop crying.

'Just a little. Just enough to dull the pain. I'm sorry Abraham, I'm such a mess. I know she was your mother too, and you are taking it all so well. I'm so sorry.' He was sobbing again. 'I just can't cope without her.'

'Yes you can. It took you a while to get over it when she left, but you coped without her after that. It's just memories holding you back, but now it is time to make new memories. Maybe with Jo, maybe with someone else. But it's time to move forward.' Henry sighed.

'What would I do without you, Abe?'

'I dunno. But tomorrow you are going to talk to Jo. You can do it at work, or you can invite her round here for dinner or something.'

'I'll invite her round here for dinner tomorrow. It might be less awkward if you are there as well.'

'Yeah and I can help convince her that you're not crazy, and that you really are 235 years old.' Henry frowned.

'Abraham, I agreed to dinner, not telling her my life story.'

'Aww come one, Henry. You're going to have to tell her something, you might as well tell her the truth. It's gonna come out sooner or later.' Abe studied Henry's face, watching the emotions pass across it. There was sadness, fear, and finally resignation.

'Fine.' Henry sighed. 'I just hope she believes me.'

'She will Pops, just give her a chance.'

-The next day-

Jo walked into the precinct the next morning, sipping her coffee.

'Hey, Jo!' She heard Hanson call. 'Someone left you a note on your desk. Something you're not telling us?' She frowned.

'Who is it from?'

'I dunno. Fancy handwriting though, so probably the Doc. What does it say?' Jo opened the letter, felling a sense of déjà vu; the envelope was the same creamy, thick paper as the last note she had received, and the writing looked like the same handwriting as was on the last letter as well, not that she had it still to compare.

'It says it's from Henry,' she began, but was interrupted by Hanson.

'Got it in one!' He grinned. 'Sorry, continue.' He said, noticing her rolling her eyes at him.

'He is inviting me round for dinner with him and Abe.'

'Are you gonna go?' Jo hesitated. She hadn't told Hanson, or anyone for that matter, about the last time she had gone to the shop. Hanson studied her. He knew something was going on between Jo and Henry but he wasn't sure what.

'Aww, come on Jo. Everyone knows that it's only a matter of time before the two of you get together.'

'I'll think about it. It says here to go to his apartment at 7, so I have the rest of the day to decide.' Hanson gave her a look, before sighing.

'I don't know what's between you guys, but it's your decision.' He walked back to his desk. 'But I think he's good for you, Jo.' She smiled sadly.

'You say that, but he still won't trust me.' She said quietly so that Hanson didn't hear.

All day she thought about Henry's offer. He hadn't wanted to see her a week ago, and he had avoided her ever since.

 _What had made him change his mind?_ When at last she finished work, she gathered up her things and went out to her car. As she pulled out of the parking lot, Jo realised that she had known what she was going to do all day. There wasn't really any choice. When she got near, she parked her car on the side of the road and walked down the street, approaching the shop. She pulled the door open, listening to the bell tinkle above her head.


	5. Chapter 5

As she entered the shop, the cold air hit her like a wave. Shivering, she pulled her coat tighter around her body.

 _Why were dairies always so cold?_ She thought, heading for the fridge freezer at the back. She surveyed the meagre selection of ready-made meals within.

 _Macaroni and cheese or lasagna?_ She asked herself. This was a mistake. As soon as she started thinking about lasagna, she remembered the lasagna she had eaten once with Henry and Abe. Abe had said it was his mother's recipe. More memories followed. Sitting on the rooftop with Henry and Abe eating dinner after solving a case. Joking about how he was such a food snob while she was eating a gyro while they were on a stakeout. She looked down at the lasagna in her hand; what if the letter really was from Henry, not another try by Abe. And even if it was from Abe, she wanted to talk to Henry, and find out what was going on. She put it back in the freezer and exited the shop. It was 7.15 and she had an antique shop to get to.

Henry paced from the front of the shop to the back, and then back to the front again.

'Abe she still isn't here.'

'Give her time. You're so impatient.'

'It's half past 7. She should have been here half an hour ago. I don't think she is going to come.'

'She will come. Be patient. Hey, if you are done with the pacing, can you come and cut some carrots for me, please? Dinner doesn't cook itself, you know.'

'What's the point?' Henry said, picking up a knife and a carrot. 'We don't need a nice dinner if she isn't going to turn up.' Abe turned to look at his father.

'Can you stop being such a pessimist?' Henry rolled his eyes.

'I'm being a realist, there is a differenc-' He was cut off by a knock on the shop door. He looked at Abe questionably.

'I locked the door, so we would know when she arrived. Just a precaution, 'cos last time we didn't know she was here and look where that got us.' Henry rolled his eyes, going to open the door.

'Oh, and let me tell the story, Abe. I'll tell it when I feel comfortable, okay.'

'Yeah yeah, as long as you tell her.'

'Tell me what?' Jo asked. Henry had opened the door by this point and she had heard the end of the conversation. Abe blinked.

'Umm tell you… explain to you his actions. Right, Henry?' He gave Henry a pointed look.

'Oh, yeah. Sure, I'll explain. I think you deserve the explanation. I will tell you. Explain everything.' He stammered nervously.

'Henry, you're overdoing it a bit. I think she gets it.'

'Right.' He nodded. 'She gets it. Of course, sorry.' He noticed Jo staring at him, and looked down at his hands. 'Sorry, I'm just a bit, apprehensive about this evening.'

'I can tell.' She said dryly. Henry gulped.

'Drinks.' He announced, rather loudly. 'Would you like a drink, detective?' He was still looking at his hands.

'Sure. Just a white wine if you have it.'

'Just go on up to the roof. Henry will bring the drinks. The dinner will be ready soon, and then I'll bring that up.' Abe said. Jo nodded, moving towards the stairs, but Abe caught her arm once she was round the corner from Henry. 'Go easy on him. Please. He's really nervous about this whole think, especially after last week.'

'Sure.' Jo nodded, before walking up the stairs. She leant on the railing, looking out at the city lights. She heard Henry come up the stairs, and turned to see him holding two drinks, one in a wine glass and the other in a normal glass.

'You're not drinking?' She asked, accepting her drink.

'No.' He said, looking at his glass of water. 'I've just managed to stop. If I have a drink I'm afraid I won't be able to stop again.'

'Oh…' Jo said quietly. 'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring it up.' He looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time that night.

'It's fine. I brought it on myself really. I tend to keep things bottled up.' Jo grinned,

'I hadn't noticed.' They both lapsed into silence, looking at the lights. The silence began to grow awkward, but luckily Abe soon appeared at the top of the stairs carrying the dinner. Roast chicken with vegetables.

'Dinner is served!' He announced, placing the food on the table. As they sat down, Jo heard him whisper to Henry;

'You haven't told her yet, have you? She looks too calm.'

'No, I haven't-' Henry began to whisper back, before they both realised that Jo was watching them. She raised an eyebrow.

'What haven't you told me?' Abe and Henry exchanged glances.

'Well there's your chance to tell her Henry.' Abe leant back in his chair, and Henry glared at him.

'Let me enjoy my meal, Abraham. I'll tell you after, Jo.' He said, turning to her. She nodded.

'Ok.' They ate in silence before Abe started asking Jo questions, like how had she been? How was work?

'And how's Hanson?' He asked.

'He's good. His boys are still driving him up the wall, though.' Henry smiled, standing up.

'Abe, would you help me carry the plates down? No, not you Jo. You are our guest. Wait here, and I'll bring up the dessert.' He and Abe disappeared down the stairs, leaving Jo at the top. She stood at the top of the stairs, listening to their conversation as they stacked the dishes and Henry assembled the dessert.

'You have to tell her now, Henry.' He sighed.

'I know.'

'I'll stay down here. Tell her I'm doing the accounts for the shop or something.'

'Abraham, I think I am going to need you there.'

'Nonsense. Just make sure you tell her everything.'

'I will.' She heard Henry start coming up the stairs, so she quickly returned to her seat at the table.

'Where is Abe?' She asked when he appeared at the top of the stairs.

'Doing the accounts for the shop.' He replied, sliding a small trifle before her, before sitting down opposite her with a small bowl of ice cream.

'You're not having any trifle?' She asked, frowning. Henry shook his head.

'The sponges are soaked in alcohol.' Her eyes grew wide.

'And you think that might make you start drinking again?'

'It's been a day since I last drank. It doesn't sound like a lot, but before I was drinking all day, even at work. I'm just trying to completely remove it from my life until I get it under control.'

'Ohh…' Jo said, playing with her spoon. That explained why he had looked so tired whenever she had seen him in the precinct. They sat in silence for a while before Jo decided to break it.

'So… what was it you were going to tell me? She asked. Henry froze, before taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. He was silent for a few minutes, and she gently prodded him.

'Henry?' He looked up, smiling sadly.

'It's a long story.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry if I'm updating too often, I tend to get caught up in writing and before I know it I've written multiple chapters...**

 **Thanks to everyone who is reading this and Obsessive Freak and superlc529 who are leaving me regular reviews, I really appreciate it :)**

'It's a long story.' He fiddled with his dessert bowl, before opening his mouth to speak. He closed it without saying anything, and Jo could almost see his mind ticking over what to say.

'Henry?' She prodded him again. He looked up from his bowl for a moment, before his eyes flickered back down.

'You asked me once if she was part of my family.' He said, quietly. 'She was. Not through blood or anything, but she was family, to me.' He froze for a minute, thinking what to say next. Jo studies his face, growing confused as she saw panic grow in his eyes.

 _Why was this story frightening him so much?_

'You know that my father and Abe's were business partners. Well, sometimes my father and I would come over from England to see them and the shop.' He was speaking faster, now. As if he wanted to get the story over and done with. 'My mother died when I was a baby. Abe's mother sort of became a mother to me. I know she was old enough to be my grandmother, but I saw her as a mother to me. I loved coming to America with my father because I would be able to spend time with her and Abe, who, to me, was like a second father. I was only about 7 or 8 when she went missing, but I missed her so much, and I saw how sad Abraham was. I promised myself that when I was older, I would try to find her. And we did find her. I just underestimated how much finding her would affect me. Abraham is taking it all so well, and I'm not. She was his mother, he knew her for so much longer than me, but yet I'm the one who can't cope. That's why I started drinking.' He stopped talking, breathing heavily.

 _So he felt like he had lost his mother all over again, for the third time. First his birth mother, and then Abe's mother twice._ Jo thought. _Poor Henry._ She tried to work out what to say next, but soon realised that Henry was crying.

'Hey, Henry. It's ok. You could have told me before.' She stood next to him, resting a hand on his back.

'I'm such a coward.' He sobbed. 'I don't know why I can't just tell you!' Jo frowned at his choice of words.

'But you have told me now, Henry. You aren't a coward anymore.' She felt his back tense beneath her hand.

'Yes,' He whispered. 'I told you. I'm sorry you have to put up with me.' Jo chuckled.

'I don't mind putting up with you, Henry.' He was silent, and eventually Jo spoke again.

'Henry, I'm sorry but it is getting late. I should probably go home now.' He nodded, still looking down at his bowl.

'I understand, detective. Abe will show you out, I'm going to sit up her for a little while longer.'

'Ok. Night, Henry.' Jo walked towards the stairs. 'Thanks for talking to me.'

'Night, Detective.' He didn't turn around, but kept looking out over the city. Jo shrugged, and turned to walk down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she saw Abe watching her, almost like he was studying her reaction to something.

'Night, Abe. I was just leaving.' She said. 'Oh, and Henry told me about your Mom being kind of like a mom to him, in case you were wondering.' Abe sighed.

'I'm glad he talked to you tonight.' He said. 'Normally he only talks to me, so it's good he has you.' He grabbed an envelope off the desk behind him. 'Read this when you get home. But make sure you think carefully about what you do afterwards. Night, Jo.' He held the door open for her and she passed through.

'Good night Abe.' She said automatically, examining the envelope she held, thinking about what Abe had said.

 _Think carefully about what you do,_ he had said.

 _What did he mean by that?_ She wondered, getting into her car. As she drove away, she looked in her rear view mirror, and saw Abe still standing by the door, watching her drive away. _Weird._

 _-_ 30 minutes later-

Henry was still looking out over the horizon when Abe climbed the stairs.

'You didn't tell her.' Henry sighed.

'I couldn't, Abraham. I just, froze and mumbled something about your mom being like a mom to me. She believed it, though.'

'That's not the point, Henry. The point is that you were going to tell her.'

'Yeah, well I didn't. I'll tell her another time.'

'I'm not giving you the chance to tell her another time.' Henry frowned, turning to face Abraham.

'What do you mean by that?'

'I had a feeling that you would wimp out. So I wrote a letter explaining it, and I gave it to her as she left. I would suspect she is already back at her house by now, and probably reading it.' Henry jumped to his feet.

'You did what?! Abraham!'

'Sorry Pops, but I'm tired of waiting for you to tell her. This way she will know sooner.'

'But we don't know how she will react! She could do anything with that letter!'

'Well then we will just have to trust her.'

Jo sat on the couch with a blanket and picked the letter up off the coffee table where she had put it when she got home. She hesitantly went to open it.

 _What could be inside?_ She wondered. _And why did Abe act like he did when he gave it to me?_ She pulled the Abe's letter out of the envelope and unfolded it slowly, beginning to read.

 ** _Hey, kid._**

 ** _So I wrote you this letter to explain a few things. It's not about Henry. Well, it is. But it is also about me._**

 ** _My parents adopted me in 1946, after I was rescued from a concentration camp at the end of the war. We were a happy family, until one day my mom disappeared. My Pops fell to pieces. He became depressed and an alcoholic. I helped him out, helped him to get started again. We opened an antique shop together-_**

Jo stopped reading. She didn't know anything about Abe's father. She had always assumed he must have died or left Abe and his mom before he started the shop with Henry's father. She continued reading:

 ** _-shop together, and eventually he managed to get a job. I continued to run the shop, buying furniture from estate sales and other antique stores, as well as selling some of my father's old stuff._**

Jo frowned _. Hadn't Henry and Abe both said that Henry's father shipped furniture to Abe from England? And if he hadn't, then how did they know each other?_

 ** _He managed to move on from my Mom's disappearance, and we were happy again. He still lived in the apartment above the shop with me, helping out occasionally with the store. He got a new job and it became his life; he loves his job._**

Jo reread the last line, noting the use of present tense. _Loves? Was Abe's father still alive? He would have to be at least 90 by now, certainly too old to be working._

 ** _In his new job he made many new friends, including one who he grew to love (at least that's what I think). Then we found out what had really happened to my mom, and it tore my father apart._**

 _So his father is still alive then._ Jo frowned. _And how does Henry come into all of this?_

 ** _My mother's name was Abigail, not Sylvia. I'm sorry you had to learn this this way, Jo, but meet my father. Henry Morgan._**

 ** _Look in the small envelope in the other envelope. You will see._**

Jo's heart was pounding.

 _What does Abe mean? Henry can't be his father!_ She found the small envelope and ripped in open, photos falling all over the coffee table and the floor around the couch. Jo quickly picked them up before looking at them.

There was a photo of a man and a woman holding a baby outside a house. The man looked exactly like Henry. She turned the photo over, and saw Abe's handwriting on the other side:

 ** _Mom (Abigail), Dad (Henry) and me, 1946._**

Jo flicked through more photos; Henry and Abe at the zoo. Henry and Abigail at a party. The family on a boat (Abe's writing on the back said it was from when they moved to America from England). Henry and Abe on Abe's first day at school. All three of them when Abe left to fight in the Vietnam war.

Jo leant back on the couch. In the photos she could see both Abe and Abigail growing older, but Henry looked the exact same. She picked up the small envelope, looking to see if there were any more photos. Inside there was a piece of paper that hadn't fallen out. Jo slowly pulled it out, and saw that it was a piece of paper folded in half. On the outside it said:

 ** _The explanation._**

She unfolded the paper, and saw more of Abe's writing.

 ** _So I'm gonna guess you want to know how this is possible. Henry is immortal. He doesn't die. Actually that's not true. He does die, but he just comes back to life. Naked. In the river. He dies a lot, hence all the public indecency charges. He was born in 1779. I won't try and explain why or how he is immortal. That's his story to tell. If you are reading this, then that means he didn't tell you at dinner. He said he was going to, but I knew that it was possible that he wouldn't, so I wrote this in advance._**

 ** _I really am his son, and I really do think that he has feelings for you. But he tends to avoid relationships with people 'cos he knows that one day they will be gone and he will still be 35._**

 ** _Give him a chance, Jo. I may have just buried my mom, but he just buried his wife. She was one of the few  
people he ever told. He doesn't often tell people because he's had some bad experiences. _**

**_I won't tell you any more, it's his story to tell and I have already told you more than he would have liked. Come round whenever to talk to him._**

 ** _But do him a favour. If you don't believe us, don't tell anyone else. Henry has had more than his fair share of padded white rooms._**

 ** _Abraham Morgan_**

 **Hope you guys like it! This story has become like my life... I suffer through school and homework each day looking forward to be able to write more :) Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So apparently there is nothing wrong with updating often, sooooo I'll try update as much as possible! I'll aim for one a day... we'll see how that goes :) Thanks for the reviews everyone, I was blown away by how many of you like my story!**

Jo collected the two letters and the photos and put them back into the envelopes. She placed them on the table and stared at them.

 _What the hell is this?_ She asked herself. _Being unable to die… that's not possible._ But the photos showed otherwise. And the whole immortal thing explained Henry's total lack of self-preservation. Jo groaned, rubbing her forehead against a headache she could feel coming. Her brain was telling her that this was not possible, that someone couldn't just come back to life after they died. She had just managed to convince herself that Henry and Abe were crazy, that it was Henry's grandfather or something in the photo and that she should tell someone, and was picking up her phone to call Hanson when she caught sight of another photo under the coffee table that she hadn't seen when she picked up the other photos after dropping them on the floor. Slowly she put the phone down and picked up the photo.

It showed a photo that must have been taken by Abe's mom, as it showed a black and white Henry look-a-like leaning over a baby Abe, who was smiling up at his dad. Jo smiled at the photo.

 _Maybe I should go and talk to them before I tell someone else. Get them to explain this to me._ She thought. _I'll go around tomorrow after work._

 _-_ The next day-

Jo was sitting at her desk doing paper work when Lucas appeared in front of her with a tox report.

'Oh, hi, Lucas. Where's Henry?'

'He called in sick this morning, so I thought I'd bring the tox report up myself. You don't know what's up with him, do you? He took all that time off and then when he actually turns up he acts really weird.'

'No, I don't know. He won't tell me anything,' Jo lied. If what Abe had said was true, then she now knew why. She shook her head.

 _When did I actually start believing that story? It's not impossible to be immortal. I'm just going to the shop to get an explanation._

'You ok?' Lucas was looking at her funny.

'Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for bringing the tox report up.'

'Sure, anytime, yeah… I'm just gonna go…' Jo hid a smile as Lucas awkwardly stammered, before heading back to the morgue. Sighing, she looked back at the pile of paperwork on her desk. Stuff it. She was going to the shop.

-20 minutes later-

Jo pulled up in front of the shop, parking her car. She sat in the car for a while, before getting out and walking to the door. She paused briefly building up the courage to push open the door. Something was different about Henry at the moment; the case had brought it out in him _._

 _But where had the immortality thing come from? His stalker? And anyway, it was Abe who had mentioned it, not Henry._ Jo shook her head to clear the thoughts. _I'm going in with an open mind. I need to work out if either of them needs help._

Taking a deep breath she pushed the door, only to almost run into it when it didn't open. Frowning, Jo noticed a sign in the door.

 ** _Sorry, we are closed for the day._**

She knocked on the door, stepping back to wait on the pavement. While she was waiting, she noticed voices coming from the roof.

'Come on, Henry! We said no more drinking. I thought you actually wanted to stop.'

'That was before you gave Jo that letter.' Jo heard the clink of a bottle. Stepping back up to the door she knocked louder.

'You hear that Henry? Sounds like someone at the door.' Jo heard Abe push his chair back, the legs scraping on the tiled roof balcony.

'All I hear is a voice in my head saying drink more.' Henry's bitter reply caused Jo to bite her lip. He was obviously taking Abe giving her the letter badly, meaning it was either true or- she cut her thought off.

 _It can't be true. The photos were photo shopped._ She told herself. _Right? Being immortal was physically impossible._ She knocked again, and was rewarded by the faint sound of Henry's voice drifting down from the roof.

'Go and see if there is anyone there, Abraham. It might be the delivery man. I ordered more vodka, it wasn't due to be here until next week, but maybe it's early.'

'Henry!'

'What? I don't have that much more left, thanks to you tipping half of it down the sink. Are you going to go see if there is anyone there or not?'

'I'm going…' Abe's voice became quieter, and soon Jo could hear his footsteps on the wooden floor in the shop.

'Jo.' He sighed in relief when he opened the door. 'Come and see if you can talk some sense into Henry. He won't listen to me.' He closed the door behind her before leading the way through the shop. 'You read the letter, right?'

'Yeah I read it…' She trailed off, following Abe up the stairs. He stopped, turning to face her.

'You don't believe me, do you?'

'Well… I'm sorry Abe, but it's not possible, is it? I mean, someone being over 200 years old and unable to die? It sounds like a children's story.' Abe had begun walking again, and Jo hurried to catch up. They walked onto the roof, Jo squinting into the sun.

'Anyone there?' She heard Henry ask. She saw him turn around and stiffen when he saw it was her. 'Detective.' He nodded his head at her before turning to Abe. 'Does she-'

'No.' Abe interrupted him. 'Sorry Pops, but you're going to have to show her.' Henry let out a breath Jo hadn't realised he was holding.

'In my lab.' He said, looking at Jo. 'Follow me.' Jo vaguely remembered his lab from when they had got a warrant to search his house when he was a suspect in the subway crash case. They descended the stairs into the dark room, and Abe switched the lights on.

'Can we use poison? It's less painful.'

'Sure. You're the one who's going to die.' Jo's eyes grew wide.

'Wait guys. What?' Abe handed Henry a small syringe before turning to Jo.

'He's going to demonstrate.'

'Demonstrate what?' Jo asked hysterically. 'Henry, you don't have to do this!'

'Yes I do, Jo. I need to show you that what Abe told you is true.' He examined the syringe he was holding, and lined it up with a vein in his arm. Jo lunged towards him, trying to prevent him injecting himself, but Abe grabbed her and held her back. For an old man he was surprisingly strong.

'Henry!' Jo started crying as he pushed down the top half of the syringe, the clear liquid within flowing into his arm.

'Henry! Abe, let me go! Henry!'

 **So not that much of a cliff hanger, we all know what is going to happen... but still. Review please :) I did this instead of my homework so you better like it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**3 days left of school until the holidays! And only 1 more internal before then (any other kiwis here will know what I'm talking about...). Anyway, here ya go! Hope you like it...**

Jo ripped herself out of Abe's hold and flung herself at Henry, who lay gasping on the floor.

'Oh my god, Henry! Call 911 Abe! Please!' She was hyperventilating. 'Henry, stay with me!' She turned to face Abe, whose face was white.

'I don't understand. I don't understand.' He was whispering. 'He should have disappeared by now. He should be dead!'

'Abe! Call 911!' Her panicked voice snapped him out of his haze. He grabbed the phone off Henry's desk and dialled 911.

'Ambulance, please. Corner of Stanton and…' Jo tuned out, focusing on Henry. His face was pale and sweaty and he was gasping for breath.

'Shh, it will be OK, Henry.' Jo's tears dropped onto his face as his eyes rolled back in his head. His breathing slowed, and stopped.

'Oh god I hope I didn't do the wrong thing by calling the ambulance if he's gonna disappear.' Abe mumbled.

'Henry! Abe, He's not breathing! Do something!' But Abe was rooted to the spot.

'He's not breathing… but he hasn't disappeared yet. I don't understand.' Jo heard the ambulance crew arrive upstairs, and ran up to show them where Henry was. Leading them downstairs, she saw Abe still standing in shock. She stood next to him as the paramedics worked on Henry. The got him breathing again using a defibrillator, before putting him on a stretcher and carrying him up to the waiting ambulance. Jo caught the sleeves of one of the crew.

'What's happening? Is he going to be ok?'

'It's a miracle we even got him breathing again. He was, clinically, dead for several minutes. Every second is crucial now. It's also highly probably that he will suffer from brain damage.' The paramedic rushed after the stretcher, calling over his shoulder; 'You can meet the ambulance at the emergency department, there is no room in the van.'

Jo and Abe watched in silence as the ambulance pulled away from the curb. She turned to Abe, who was still in shock.

'Come on Abe. Let's go meet them at the hospital.' She led him to the car.

'I don't understand.' He said as they drove off. 'Every other time he disappears. Every time, right when he stops breathing.' Jo bit her lip.

'You don't really believe that, do you Abe?' He turned to her, opening his mouth to reply. He sighed, turning to look out the window.

'I don't know what to believe anymore.'

They drove in silence, Jo occasionally sneaking glances at Abe.

 _I have to tell someone about what happened, what they said._ She thought. _I have to, what if one day Henry actually dies. He was lucky this time._

-10 minutes later-

Jo pulled into a park in the hospital car park and they were both out of the car within seconds, rushing towards the emergency ward.

'Where is Henry Morgan?' Abe asked the nurse at the front desk.

'He's been put in the ICU. Are you family members?'

'It's complicated. I'm an old family friend and this is his work partner.' Abe waved a hand at Jo. 'Please can we see him?'

'The ICU is through the doors on your left. Visiting hours end in 10 minutes!' She called after them as the hurried towards the doors. Abe pushed open the doors and Jo almost ran into him as he stopped suddenly.

'Oh, god. Henry.' He was hooked up to multiple machines with wires everywhere. A nurse was taking measurements from one of the machines, and Abe went up to her.

'How is he? Will he be ok?'

'Well we're still waiting for his brain scans to come back, so we're not really sure, but I expect there will be some brain damage. How much I can't say. He should wake up from the induced coma sometime tomorrow and then we can assess him fully.' Abe let out a deep breath.

'But otherwise he'll be ok?' The nurse looked uncomfortable.

'There is still a chance he doesn't make it, but we are doing everything we can. If he does make it, then the brain damage could range from anything from not being able to talk to… to not being able to move properly.' Abe stifled a sob.

'Oh, god Henry. What are we going to do?' A bell rang, and the nurse from the front desk came through.

'Visiting hours are over for the day.' She came up to Jo and Abe. 'One of you can stay the night; we are moving him to room on his own because he needs monitoring.' Jo turned to Abe.

'You stay. You're closer to him than me.' He gave her a small smile.

'Will you come tomorrow?'

'I'll try.' She sighed. 'Probably in the afternoon, if I can get off work. Bye Abe.'

'Bye Kid.' He watched her kiss Henry on his forehead before walking out of the ICU. Nurses and Doctors came in and began preparing Henry to move him into an individual room. Abe followed at a slight distance as they wheeled his father down a white corridor.

Once they had reconnected Henry to all the new machines in the room, another doctor entered holding a file.

'You're Dr Morgan's next of kin?' he asked Abe.

'Family friend, he has no family in the states. I'm Abraham Smith.' He gave the last name he had chosen when he began wondering why he and Henry had the same name.

'Nice to meet you, Mr Smith.' The doctor shook Abe's hand. 'We have got Dr Morgan's scans back. Unfortunately they show that the oxygen was cut off from his brain for a while, so we are expecting that if he wakes up he will be severely brain damaged. Everyone recovers differently however, so we won't know how it affects him until he wakes up.'

'So it's possible that he makes a full recovery?' Abe's eyes were filled with hope.

'Not a full recovery, but there is a very slim chance that it could just cause a stammer or anger problems, or something else that doesn't greatly affect him.' The doctor smiled at Abe. 'Here's hoping for the best. I'll be back to check on Dr Morgan in the morning. The nurses will help you set up a camp bed in the corner.'

The doctor left and a young nurse carried in a small fold up bed.

'Sorry it's not much,' she said, 'we have a lot of people staying at the moment with their family members.'

'No no, it's fine, thanks.' Abe smiled at her. Once she had left, he surveyed the room.

 _No cameras._ He noticed. _They are just monitoring him through the machines._ Abe had no idea if Henry could hear him, but he leant over, whispering into his ear.

'Don't worry Pops, we'll get you out of here. I have a plan.

 **Ok so maybe I lied about the whole we know what's going to happen thing... I'm sorry :) Actually I'm not XD**

 **Please review! Reading them makes writing this story worth it :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! So far I've managed to keep to updating once a day. Let's just hope the story quality doesn't go down... tell me if it does, 'kay?**

 **On another note... I present to you chapter 9!**

Later that night, Abe stuck his head out into the corridor, looking both ways. The corridor was dim, but there was a light coming from the nurses' station round the corner. He closed the door, and turned to look at Henry, lying on his back, still hooked up to multiple machines.

Abraham knew that as soon as the machines stopped recording measurements an alarm would sound in the nurses' station round the corner. He had to be prepared for that.

Gathering up his pillow, he made his way to stand at his father's bedside.

'Sorry Pops, but it is easier this way.' ****

He gently lowered the pillow down until it was covering Henry's face. He pressed down harder, making sure Henry's nose and mouth were completely covered. Abe rested a hand on Henry's chest, and eventually felt his heartbeat slow. He found the pulse in Henry's wrist, and held it until he couldn't feel anything.

 _Please work._ He thought. _Please disappear this time._

Nothing happened.

'Come on, come on. You can't die.' Abe whispered, lowering the pillow from Henry's face and carefully brushing his hair of his face. He was getting frantic when there was a flash of light and Henry's body disappeared.

Abe knew that the alarm must have sounded in the nurses' station by now, so he quickly got back into his camp bed and pretended to be asleep. A few minutes later the door flew open and the light was switched on as doctors and nurses rushed into the room.

The first nurse into the room stopped when she saw the empty bed. The other doctors and nurses also froze when they saw the empty bed.

Abe rolled over, shielding his eyes from the light.

'What is it? What's wrong? Is Henry ok?' The hospital staff were all silent, until one nurse cleared his throat.

'Sir, you don't happen to know where Dr Morgan is by any chance?' Abraham frowned.

'You mean he's not in his bed?'

'No. But don't worry, sir. He most likely woke up from the coma and didn't know where he was. Patients are often confused and disorientated.' One of the doctors answered him. 'He'll be in the hospital somewhere.'

-2 hours later-

Abe was sitting in the waiting room drinking a cup of coffee when the doctor returned.

'Have you found him?' Abe stood up. 'Is he ok?'

'Unfortunately not, Mr Smith. We have notified the police, and they will keep an eye out for him in the case that he has left hospital grounds. I have just come to recommend that you go home. Get some rest. We will contact you as soon as we know anything.' Abe nodded, putting his cup down on a table and turning to go.

'Oh, and Mr Smith, he might turn up at your residence. If he does, make sure he comes straight back to the hospital so we can assess the damage to his brain.'

-20 minutes later-

They had driven to the hospital in Jo's car, so Abe had caught a taxi back to the shop. He payed the taxi driver before getting his key out of his pocket and unlocking the door. He grabbed his car keys of the desk and a change of clothes and ran out the door again, only pausing to relock it behind him. He drove through the darkened streets, heading for the river.

He pulled up next to the curb, and within seconds saw a shadow run towards the car. Henry jumped in, grabbing the clothes from Abe.

They drove back in silence, Henry getting dressed. It was only when they got home that they spoke.

'What happened, Abe? The last thing I remember is Jo coming over and saying she didn't believe what you said in the letter. But that was early afternoon, and now it's in the middle of the night!'

'You injected yourself with poison, but when you died you didn't disappear. We called an ambulance and they got you breathing again before taking you to hospital. They said that there was a large chance that you'd be severely brain damaged. Also you not disappearing when you died did nothing to convince Jo that we aren't crazy. I smothered you with my pillow-' Henry interrupted.

'And let me guess, I ended up in the river.'

'Well, yeah… but not until a couple of minutes after you stopped breathing, I actually thought I'd killed you for a minute. I guess it's the same when you didn't disappear after poisoning yourself. You would have disappeared but the ambulance arrived before you did and then they got you breathing again.' Henry's eyes lit up.

'So maybe one day I'll actually stay dead! This is great news!'

'Yeah, ok, ok. Maybe for you it is, but not for me. Anyway, more pressing is what do we do now? Either I take you back to the hospital and we tell them that you woke up from the coma and went walkabouts, which is what they thing happened, or we move on again.' Henry's face became more serious.

'I guess we should move on. Jo probably thinks we're both not quite there.'

It was just after 1 am when Jo's phone rang. Rolling over she saw it was someone at the precinct.

'Martinez.'

'Hey, Jo,' She heard the voice of Mark, a cop who was often on the night watch. 'I was just wondering if you'd heard about Henry?' Jo sighed.

'That he's at the hospital? Yeah I know.'

'Oh um, well we just received a call from the hospital asking us to look out for him. Apparently he's gone missing. They think he's on hospital property somewhere, but they aren't sure.' Jo's mouth dropped open.

'Oh. Thanks Mark. I should go to the hospital, see how Abe is.'

'Abe, is he the guy who was with Henry at the hospital?'

'Yeah they're old friends.'

'The doctor who called us said that they were going to send him home in case Henry showed up there.'

'I'll go there then. Thanks Mark.'

-30 minutes later-

After throwing some clothes on, Jo had jumped in her car and driven to the shop. She pulled up outside and leapt out, slamming the car door behind her. She hurried to the door of the shop but froze before she opened it. The lights within were on, and they illuminated Henry and Abe rushing about. Packing. Jo frowned.

 _What are they doing?_

 **Ok so I'm planning only another one or two chapters at this point in time, that might change but I feel like we are nearing the end. Thanks for reading this!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay another day another chapter! Hope you enjoy this one!**

Henry had just finished lugging his suitcase into the room when he heard a knock at the door. He turned to see who could possibly be there at 1.30 in the morning. He froze when his eyes met Jo's, only moving again when she cocked an eyebrow at him and pointed at the door.

'Sorry.' Henry said when he had unlocked the door and let her in. 'We weren't expecting anyone.' Jo blinked at him.

'No way!' She said sarcastically. 'Is that because it's the middle of the night or because you're meant to be in hospital right now!' Her voice rose until she was yelling. 'What the hell is going on Henry? The last time I saw you the doctors were saying you might not ever be able to talk or move again, then I get a call saying you've disappeared from the hospital and when I get here you're packing suitcases!' Henry shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot.

'It's another long story.' He said nervously.

'Oh I bet.' Jo shot back. 'And I intend on hearing every word of it.'

'Hey Pops!' Abraham shouted from down in Henry's laboratory. 'Why are you talking to yourself, ya finally gone crazy? If you're done with the clothes can you help me with your stuff down here? I don't know what you want. Then we need to leave, ok?' Jo frowned.

'Leave? Leave where?'

'We were going to go to Spain. I haven't been there for years.' Henry smiled at her, trying not to show how panicked he was.

'I'm being serious, Henry.'

'So am I. Abraham!' He called, 'We have a visitor.' Jo heard Abe's footsteps coming up the stairs.

'At this time of night? Who is it?' He rounded the corner into the room. 'Oh. It's Jo. Well, the more the merrier, I guess.'

'It's no time for jokes, Abraham.'

'Aww come on Henry. You're so uptight, someti-' Jo interrupted him.

'If you guys are quite finished arguing, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on.' Henry and Abe looked at each other, before Henry turned to Jo, clearing his throat.

'Of course, detective.' He gestured towards the stairs leading to the apartment and sitting room. 'Have a seat in the lounge, I'll get some tea.

'I don't want tea, I want an explanation.' Jo stared Henry down. He looked away from her.

'Ok.' He led the way to the sitting room and sat on a couch. Jo took a seat on the couch opposite.

'After you left they moved me to another room. During the night Abe killed me, I returned in the river, we came home and started packing. We can't stay here now. You think I'm crazy and a hospital and the police are looking for me.' Jo sighed, looking over her shoulder at Abe who was leaning against the wall.

'Again with the immortal thing. What is it, Henry? Your secret? What is it that makes you rather tell me this story than the truth?'

'This story is the truth!' Henry stood up and began pacing the room. 'Do you know how long it took me to open up to you? Wait, it wasn't even me who told you, it was Abe. This is why I don't tell people about my condition. Because I'm scared they will react like this!'

He ran a hand through his hair before leaving the room. Jo turned back to face Abe.

'Abe-' she started to say, but was cut off by Henry coming back into the room.

'This time I really will show you.' He said, holding up a knife.

'What, Henry no!'

'I have to show you, Jo. I can't have you thinking I am mad. Or Abraham for that matter. He might be growing old, but he's not mad. Yet.'

'Watch it, Pops. You're older than me.'

'Doesn't count Abraham. Sorry, Jo.' He turned to her, sending her a reassuring glance before reaching up and slitting his throat.

'Henry! Oh my god, not again. Abe, call an ambulance.' Jo rushed to Henry's side.

'Sorry, kid, but you need to see this.'

'See what?! See Henry die?'

'Yes. And after you see him die, you will see him disappear. Watch, Jo.'

'Watch?! I'm not going to watch my best friend die!'

'Watch.' Something in his voice made Jo fall silent. She turned back to Henry, and smoothed his hair with the fingers.

 _I can't believe I am watching Henry die. What has happened to my life?_ A tear fell from her eye, landing on Henry's forehead. It glistened there for a few seconds, before it disappeared. Along with Henry. Jo jumped to her feet, stumbling backwards.

'Ab-Abe?' Her voice trembled. 'What happened? Where is he?' Abe had left the room.

'He'll be at the river. We have to go and pick him up.' He returned with some clothes.

'What's with the clothes?'

'I said in my letter, remember? He comes back naked.'

-15 minutes later-

When they pulled up by the river, Jo jumped out of the car.

'Henry? Henry!'

'Shh. I'm here.' Jo turned to see a dark shape behind a tree.

'Henry?'

'Yes it's me. Can you pass me some clothes please?' Abe handed Jo the clothes and she passed them to Henry. A minute or so later he stepped out from behind the tree, and Jo launched herself at him.

'You worried me.'

'Sorry, but I had to show you somehow didn't I detective?'

'Don't call me that.' She scowled at him. Henry laughed.

'Sorry det- Jo. It's habit.' She stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear,

'Break it. I know some habits I'm going to break.' She stepped away from Henry, back towards Abe and the car. Henry smiled his lopsided smile at her.

'Like what, detective.' She put her head on the side, giving him the look.

'Wait and you'll see.'

'Well before he sees, maybe we should work out what we're going to do next? Like with the hospital and everything?' Henry sent his son a look.

'Thanks for ruining the mood Abraham.'

'No problem. Anytime.' He grinned at Henry, holding the car door open. 'You coming?'

'We're coming.' Jo replied, returning to the car. 'Henry?' He was still standing by the tree.

'Sorry. Coming.'

-Back at the shop-

They sat in the lounge drinking tea. Henry put down his cup.

'Anyone got any ideas?'

 **So I've decided that there will be one more chapter. I won't be able to update tomorrow but I will definitely write more on Saturday (NZ time. I think that's Friday for you Americans :P). I will be writing another story after this one though so if you'd all like to read that when I start it that would be awesome! Thanks guys and don't forget to review :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**So here it is guys, the last chapter!**

Jo and Henry were quiet while Abraham explained his idea. When he had finished, they both looked thoughtful for a minute before Jo spoke up.

'I think it might work.' Henry nodded,

'Me too.' Abraham stood up and clapped his hands together.

'Let's get to it then.' He picked up the phone.

-30 minutes later-

Henry sat in a hard plastic chair. There was no-one else on the room; Abe and Jo were out in the corridor with the doctors.

Once Abe had called the hospital to say that he had found Henry, they had sent an ambulance to check him out and bring him back to the hospital. Now he was waiting for one of the doctors to come in to examine him. The paramedics in the ambulance had found nothing wrong with him but they wanted to give him scans to make sure.

Just then the door opened, and Henry got a brief glance into the corridor where he saw Abe and Jo before a doctor entered the room and shut the door.

'Dr Morgan? I'm Dr Crade. The paramedics reported that they found you in perfect health, but we would like to perform a few scans just to make sure.' Henry nodded.

'Sure.'

'So if you would just follow me,' Dr Crade opened another door on the other side of the room, 'and we can get started.' They entered a room with an assortment of MRI scanners and other machines. The doctor walked towards one of the scanners, talking over his shoulder.

'I need you to lie on this platform, and then I will lower this part here down over your head. It will take a scan of your brain and we can see if there is any damage. I'm not expecting to see any based on what the paramedics said and how you appear to me, but we need to be sure.'

Henry lay down and Dr Crade strapped his head in place before lowering down another part of the machine down until it covered his head.

'Once I switch the machine on it will begin humming slightly. I need you to stay as still as possible for the next 15 minutes or so, until the machine has finished taking the scan.'

'Ok. How long after that will it take to get the results back?' Henry asked. The doctor started programming the machine.

'Shouldn't be too long, maybe half an hour or so? Ok I'm going to turn the machine on now.'

The scanner shuddered a little before beginning to make a humming sound that prevented any more conversation. Henry spent the next 20 minutes staring at the scanner above him and thinking how good their plan was playing out. Just as he was starting to wonder how much longer the scan was going to take the machine made a beeping noise and stopped humming. Dr Crade raised the scanner and unstrapped Henry's head from the head rest, before leading him back into the room with the hard plastic chairs.

'Take a seat. I will be back with your results as soon as they come through.' He left the room, and Henry sighed. More waiting.

 _I wonder where Abraham and Jo are?_ After a while he dozed off, having slept very little that night. He was woken by the doctor returning around 30 minutes later.

'I've seen your results, Dr Morgan, and there doesn't seem to be any serious damage to your brain at all. Or nothing that shows up at least. We do expect that you will experience some dizzy spells occasionally, or moments of forgetfulness, but nothing to be worried about. You are very lucky that the poison was a type that causes your heart to stop rather than destroys your internals.'

'Yes, I know.' Henry smiled. 'Does this mean I can return to work?'

'Theoretically, yes. But your friends mentioned that you work with the NYPD? As you ended up in the hospital because of poison, they might not allow you back. We've already had them asking us a few times about how you ended up with the poison in your blood stream but as you were in a coma we couldn't find out what you knew, and your friends did not know. I guess the NYPD will want to ask you about that now.'

'Yes, probably.' Abraham had mentioned this while he was describing his plan to Henry. The doctor smiled at Henry.

'Well, as we can't find anything wrong with you, you are free to go.' He opened the door into the corridor and Henry saw Abe and Jo waiting.

'Thank you.' He said, turning to Dr Crade, holding out his hands. The two doctors shook hands, and then he was gone, leaving Henry, Jo and Abe to leave. As they walked towards the carpark, Jo's phone rang.

'Martinez.' Abe and Henry grew silent, watching Jo.

'Yep… no he's fine…yes; I'm with him and Abe now…ok I'll tell him…thanks lieu…bye.'

She put her phone back into her pocket and turned to Henry.

'Lieu says she wants you to come in to the precinct this afternoon to explain what happened with the poison.' Abe laughed.

'Explain how he slipped and fell against a table that had poison on it, and then it entered into his blood stream through a small paper cut on his arm. They're all gonna think you're a klutz, Pops!'

'As long as I'm an employed klutz.' Henry shook his head at Abe. They were in the car by now, and Jo began driving towards the exit.

'Hey, Pops,' Abe leant forward from the back seat. 'How did it feel being in hospital? You haven't been in a hospital since you became sick in 1955!' Henry opened his mouth to answer but Jo spoke before him.

'It's kinda creepy, talking about someone who looks 35 who was last in hospital 60 years ago. Especially when it's their 70 year old son doing the talking. Are you really Abe's dad?' She asked Henry.

'Yes. Abigail and I adopted him when he was a baby.'

'And Abigail was the person whose remains we found a few weeks ago.' Jo snuck a look at Henry, and saw him tense ever so slightly.

'Yes.' Jo built up her courage to ask the next question. She didn't want to ask it, but she had to.

'And since Abigail, you haven't had a serious relationship with anyone?'

'No, just Molly for a few days. I try not to let myself become too close to anyone because sooner or later they'll be gone and I'll still be here.'

 _Oh._ Jo thought. _That explained a lot._

'I really like you, Jo. You are the first person I've really found myself falling for.' Jo gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to slow her heart.

'But I guess you want us to continue being just friends, though?' She questioned.

'No.' His blunt reply startled her; it wasn't what she was expecting. She stopped at a red light.

'You don't want us to just be friends?' She asked, putting emphasis on the 'just'. Jo turned to look at Henry. He was smiling his lopsided smile again.

'I'd rather not.' The light turned green and the car moved forward.

 _Like us._ Jo thought. _Moving forward in our lives._

As she drove, Henry's words echoed in her head.

'I'd rather not.'

 **So that's it guys, it's finished :( I've loved writing this story, and I'm quite happy with how it ended. Like I said in a previous chapter, I will be writing another story. I should begin posting that on here sometime in the next week. We'll see. Thanks again everyone for reading my story, and don't forget to leave a review on how you liked the last chapter! (It was a little cheesy at the end but meh). BYEEEEEEEE**


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